Mumbai, Nov 18: Noted film maker Sanjay Gupta today turned hostile by refuting police charges that he had a telephonic talk with Pakistan-based gangster Chhota Shakeel in the company of actor Sanjay Dutt, director Mahesh Manjrekar and financier Harish Sughand from a hotel two years back.

Deposing before designated Judge A P Bhangale, Gupta, a prime witness in the case of alleged nexus of Bollywood with the underworld, denied that Dutt, Manjrekar, Sughand and he himself had developed links with Shakeel for pecuniary gains. To a question by prosecutor Rohini Salian, the witness also denied that they were frontmen of Shakeel and had connived with him to capture Bollywood.

Earlier, in a statement to police, Gupta had said that Dutt, Manjrekar, Sughand and he himself had spoken to Shakeel on telephone on November 14, 2000 from a hotel in Nasik. Police had recorded this telephonic talk and obtained sample voices of Gupta, Manjrekar and Sughand to match them with the ones figuring in the alleged conversation. The spectograph test has indeed confirmed their voices.

He is the fifth witness in the case to turn hostile. Others who have not supported the prosecution are financier Harish Sughand, businessman Aftab Patel, director of Venus music company Ratan Jain and film director Mahesh Manjrekar. The prosecution has alleged that gangster Shakeel had developed links with financier shah and producer Rizvi to target film personalities for personal gains.

Police have recorded phone talks between them which allegedly reveal that film "Chori Chori Chupke Chupke" was made at Shakeel's instance. Bureau Report